(...or whatever he calls himself these days (in Norwegian) - click here for (Google) translation into English.)
All of Vikernes' statements I use in this text are from that article except if stated otherwise...
*****
“In 1991 most of the metal musicians in Norway believed Euronymous was a so-called cool guy, but in mid or late 1992 most of us realized that he was not.”
Like who exactly...?
-- Did you view Euronymous as the leader of Black Metal?
-- Yes, definitely. He was like some kind of brother for me. He had a very strong personality. His death was the biggest loss that could have happened to the Norwegian scene.
-- Yes, definitely. He was like some kind of brother for me. He had a very strong personality. His death was the biggest loss that could have happened to the Norwegian scene.
Infernus of Gorgoroth
(Interview in Circle of the Tyrants #1 (1996)
-- Do you think that Euronymous maybe opened some doors of
opportunity for Mysticum with his support?
(Interview in Circle of the Tyrants #1 (1996)
-- Do you think that Euronymous maybe opened some doors of
opportunity for Mysticum with his support?
-- He did absolutely. I think he really opened everything.
Robin Malmberg of Mysticum
(Interview in Worm Gear #8 (1994?)
Albums / Demos dedicated to Euronymous (besides De Mysteriis Dom. Sathanas and the Nordic Metal compilation):
Just those I know of...
There is even a song dedicated to him:
(Interview in Worm Gear #8 (1994?)
- Me and the other people who knew Euronymous closely and also the people who knew what Euronymous stood for will keep the memory alive... We will NEVER forget what he has done for the whole scene...
Bård “Faust” Eithun
(Liner notes from "Nordic Metal - A Tribute to Euronymous" (1995)
- After the murder of Euronymous in 1993, everything was totally fucked up and I lost all contacts with the band. I had already returned to Hungary when I read the shocking news. My own life was heavily affected by that crime.
Attila Csihar
(Liner notes from "Life Eternal"(2009)
Albums / Demos dedicated to Euronymous (besides De Mysteriis Dom. Sathanas and the Nordic Metal compilation):
Just those I know of...
There is even a song dedicated to him:
*****
“When he sold all the Burzum albums he paid his private bills rather than print more records - or pay me back the money he owned me (and I never saw any royalties either, for that sake).”
“When he sold all the Burzum albums he paid his private bills rather than print more records - or pay me back the money he owned me (and I never saw any royalties either, for that sake).”
-- How much money do you get for every 1000 copies you sell?
-- 10,000 NOK.. ca. 13-140 US$
-- 10,000 NOK.. ca. 13-140 US$
Vikernes interviewed in
Putrefaction Zine #7 (1992)
Putrefaction Zine #7 (1992)
*****
“I took the consequence of his incompetence and stupidity and started up my own label, called Burznazg [...] that was later (in late 1992) changed to Cymophane...”
-- DSP is doing their job well! Only DSP is real!
Vikernes interviewed in
Hammer of Damnations Zine (1992)
Hammer of Damnations Zine (1992)
*****
"When I did the anonymous interview in January 1993 I exaggerated a lot and when the journalist left...
[...]
Euronymous had made a complete fool of himself by closing down the shop, and most of us agreed that he was a damn wimp and an idiot. I was angry at him for not taking advantage of the situation, which was why I had done that silly interview in the first place, and I didn't want anything more to do with him."
How very selfless... The interview was not done to raise interest in Burzum as well, no?
[...]
Euronymous had made a complete fool of himself by closing down the shop, and most of us agreed that he was a damn wimp and an idiot. I was angry at him for not taking advantage of the situation, which was why I had done that silly interview in the first place, and I didn't want anything more to do with him."
How very selfless... The interview was not done to raise interest in Burzum as well, no?
*****
“When he phoned me to ask me if they, the guys in Mayhem, could stay at my place when they were in Grieghallen sound studios to finish the Mayhem album, I said no.”
“When he phoned me to ask me if they, the guys in Mayhem, could stay at my place when they were in Grieghallen sound studios to finish the Mayhem album, I said no.”
Now that seems a bit odd since Vikernes played bass guitar on this album (De Mysteriis Dom. Sathanas). And by the way I think it's a shame that his contribution remained on that album!
*****
“This is probably the reason people claim the killing was a result of a power struggle between two leading figures in the scene, but the truth is that this was only important to him. I couldn't care less about this.”
-- Vikernes was very much into making war with Øystein. He didn't like him anymore, because obviously Øystein got more attention in the underground scene than Vikernes, and he couldn't handle it. For Øystein it wasn't any big deal really, because he was an easy going, very controlled person.
-- Vikernes was very much into making war with Øystein. He didn't like him anymore, because obviously Øystein got more attention in the underground scene than Vikernes, and he couldn't handle it. For Øystein it wasn't any big deal really, because he was an easy going, very controlled person.
Bård “Faust” Eithun
(Lords of Chaos; page 118)
(Lords of Chaos; page 118)
*****
“Later Mayhem got a new guitarist, Snorre W. Ruch of Thorns, from Trondheim, and when he moved to Bergen I let him sleep on a guest bed, in the living room of my apartment, until he got his own apartment. At this point Euronymous had begun to plot against my life. He wanted to kill me. In his view I was the problem, so by killing me he believed he problem would go away.
[…]
Also, in August 1993 he was about to go to prison for four months, after being convicted for injuring two people with a broken bottle, because they had "looked at his girlfriend" at a bus-stop.
[…]
The same day he told Snorre about his intentions to kill me (and thus indirectly told me, as I was listening to their conversation), I received a letter from him, where he pretended to be so very positive and where he was very friendly and wanted to meet me to discuss a contract that I had not yet signed. This was the only excuse he had to contact me, and it seemed like he was trying to set me up.
[…]
The same day I decided to drive to Oslo, hand him the signed contract and tell him to "f*** off", basically, and by doing so take away all the excuses he had to contact me ever again.”
There is no evidence except for Vikernes' statements (or that of his friends) to support the claim that Euronymous wanted to kill him.
So, Vikernes received that letter from Euronymous that he presumed to be a “set up”. Since there is no proof that this conversation between Euronymous and Snorre ever took place – maybe this letter was indeed supposed to be what it looked like (a suggestion to talk about the contract and maybe come to terms on a friendly basis) and not a set up. But anyway – Vikernes felt threatened in some way and his reaction to this is to drive right away to the person he feels threatened by…? Makes sense... It's not that Euronymous lived around the corner (so to say) but about 500 kilometers away. So I don't think Vikernes would have had anything to fear about – he could have just sent the contract back and tell him by mail to “fuck off” or whatever. Or just ignore it.
Also, since Euronymous was supposed to go to jail for four months (and I am not even sure if that's true; Vikernes probably made it up to add another twisted "justification" for the murder), he could have at least felt safe during that time. And in addition a lot can happen during four months – so if Euronymous really wanted to kill Vikernes, he could have changed his mind in jail. Anyway, I am just speculating here because, as I said above, I don't believe he planned to kill him (and I never will).
"Just before I left Snorre told me he wanted to come along, because he had some new guitar riffs to show him."
Interesting coincidence… anyway, some years earlier in his book Vargsmål (Life and Death Fight) he said:
“I came late in the evening, a friend of mine with come along with me for the alibi of the trip and show the "man" in Oslo some new music…”
“Euronymous was waiting for me in entrance, looking very nervous, and I handed him the contract. I may add that of course he was nervous. The guy he planned to murder showed up at his doorstep in the middle of the night.”
If Euronymous had really planned to kill Vikernes I guess he would have either not let him in late at night (who in their right mind would actually do that?) or AT LEAST arm himself while Vikernes was walking up the stairs. But no, he welcomed him in nothing but his underwear. No weapon, no nothing. No wonder he looked nervous.
[…]
Also, in August 1993 he was about to go to prison for four months, after being convicted for injuring two people with a broken bottle, because they had "looked at his girlfriend" at a bus-stop.
[…]
The same day he told Snorre about his intentions to kill me (and thus indirectly told me, as I was listening to their conversation), I received a letter from him, where he pretended to be so very positive and where he was very friendly and wanted to meet me to discuss a contract that I had not yet signed. This was the only excuse he had to contact me, and it seemed like he was trying to set me up.
[…]
The same day I decided to drive to Oslo, hand him the signed contract and tell him to "f*** off", basically, and by doing so take away all the excuses he had to contact me ever again.”
There is no evidence except for Vikernes' statements (or that of his friends) to support the claim that Euronymous wanted to kill him.
So, Vikernes received that letter from Euronymous that he presumed to be a “set up”. Since there is no proof that this conversation between Euronymous and Snorre ever took place – maybe this letter was indeed supposed to be what it looked like (a suggestion to talk about the contract and maybe come to terms on a friendly basis) and not a set up. But anyway – Vikernes felt threatened in some way and his reaction to this is to drive right away to the person he feels threatened by…? Makes sense... It's not that Euronymous lived around the corner (so to say) but about 500 kilometers away. So I don't think Vikernes would have had anything to fear about – he could have just sent the contract back and tell him by mail to “fuck off” or whatever. Or just ignore it.
Also, since Euronymous was supposed to go to jail for four months (and I am not even sure if that's true; Vikernes probably made it up to add another twisted "justification" for the murder), he could have at least felt safe during that time. And in addition a lot can happen during four months – so if Euronymous really wanted to kill Vikernes, he could have changed his mind in jail. Anyway, I am just speculating here because, as I said above, I don't believe he planned to kill him (and I never will).
*****
"Just before I left Snorre told me he wanted to come along, because he had some new guitar riffs to show him."
Interesting coincidence… anyway, some years earlier in his book Vargsmål (Life and Death Fight) he said:
“I came late in the evening, a friend of mine with come along with me for the alibi of the trip and show the "man" in Oslo some new music…”
*****
“Euronymous was waiting for me in entrance, looking very nervous, and I handed him the contract. I may add that of course he was nervous. The guy he planned to murder showed up at his doorstep in the middle of the night.”
If Euronymous had really planned to kill Vikernes I guess he would have either not let him in late at night (who in their right mind would actually do that?) or AT LEAST arm himself while Vikernes was walking up the stairs. But no, he welcomed him in nothing but his underwear. No weapon, no nothing. No wonder he looked nervous.
*****
“My belt knife was in the car, because it was in the belt I had left there, but I had a pocket knife, or rather a boot knife (with an 8 cm long blade) in my pocket.
[…] The blade was not sharp. It was so blunt I wouldn't have been able to cut a tomato in two with it without crushing it instead."
---
“The knife was little, about 10 cm length in the blade, and it was not sharp.”
“Also I read an autopsy report and there was a wound through his chest which came out in the back! Which means of course I was angry and hit him hard. It was a very sharp knife.”
[…] The blade was not sharp. It was so blunt I wouldn't have been able to cut a tomato in two with it without crushing it instead."
---
“The knife was little, about 10 cm length in the blade, and it was not sharp.”
(Vargsmål)
“Also I read an autopsy report and there was a wound through his chest which came out in the back! Which means of course I was angry and hit him hard. It was a very sharp knife.”
(Lords of Chaos; page 123)
How do you inflict a wound that goes through someone's chest and comes out of the back with an 8 / 10 cm long blade…?
"Some people have claimed I slew a helpless and unarmed man, but first of all he tried to get a knife before I did, and certainly he could have armed himself if he had chosen to stay and fight instead of running away like a coward."
He actually did not manage to get hold of a weapon so in fact he WAS unarmed.
“I stabbed him (three or four times) in his left shoulder as he ran - that was the only part I could hit while we were running anyhow.
[…] but although the blood had splashed all over the walls inside the staircase, as we ran downwards, I had no blood in my face, only on my upper body.”
---
"The reason there were so many knife wounds (about 14-15, plus 8-9 cuts from glass pieces he fell on with his naked body. These cuts came from a lamp he crushed during his glorious escape), is due to my knife's modest size…"
How do you inflict a wound that goes through someone's chest and comes out of the back with an 8 / 10 cm long blade…?
*****
"Some people have claimed I slew a helpless and unarmed man, but first of all he tried to get a knife before I did, and certainly he could have armed himself if he had chosen to stay and fight instead of running away like a coward."
He actually did not manage to get hold of a weapon so in fact he WAS unarmed.
*****
“I stabbed him (three or four times) in his left shoulder as he ran - that was the only part I could hit while we were running anyhow.
[…] but although the blood had splashed all over the walls inside the staircase, as we ran downwards, I had no blood in my face, only on my upper body.”
---
"The reason there were so many knife wounds (about 14-15, plus 8-9 cuts from glass pieces he fell on with his naked body. These cuts came from a lamp he crushed during his glorious escape), is due to my knife's modest size…"
(Vargsmål)
Blood splashes all over the walls from 3 or 4 stabs into the shoulder? Yeah, right…
Also the amount of stabs seem to diminish with every new version. I wonder what it will be like in the next (in case there will be one). Probably something like "I stabbed him once, he fell down the stairs and broke his neck".
“The only reason I had pulled a knife was because he was trying to, and I figured it would be fair that I had a knife too, although the knife I had wasn't much.”
Repeating this doesn't change the fact that, after all, he was actually unarmed.
“He had showed his intention to kill me, and even though he was no longer a direct threat to me, there and then, I did not feel any bad for killing him. His cowardice had made me angry and I saw no reason to let him live, not when he had showed his intent to kill me.”
By doing what…?
"Some have for some weird reason claimed that I killed Euronymous because of a girl...
[...] To my knowledge Euronymous didn't have a girlfriend, so it cannot be his girlfriend the people spreading this silly rumour were talking about either."
Huh? All of a sudden he didn´t have a girlfriend?
"Also, in August 1993 he was about to go to prison for four months, after being convicted for injuring two people with a broken bottle, because they had "looked at his girlfriend" at a bus-stop."
Ok, maybe he didn't have this girlfriend anymore just before he was murdered - but well, still thought I point that one out since it's definitely not clear from what Vikernes wrote.
“Even the people who criticize me for killing a fellow Norwegian are wrong. Euronymous was actually Lappish, as can be clearly seen from the pictures of him. His Lappish (Mongolian) facial features are very visible, his hair was typical Lappish (thin and straight) and his stature was revealing too (like most Laps he was very short).”
---
“Also he was half Lappish, a Sami, so that was a bonus. Bastard!”
This statement about Euronymous being a Sami (or half…he seems to be indecisive) has to be one of the best examples of Vikernes' ever-changing views. As Vikernes says himself it was clearly visible - so it was of course visible at times when they were good friends (even if he tries his best to downplay this these days). So, Vikernes either did not realize this back then (unlikely if it was so clearly visible!) - or rather he simply did not care! Now if that's not a change of mind… Great example of shooting yourself in the foot. Also very interesting in this context:
“I was a skinhead when I was 15 or 16. Nobody knows that. People say that suddenly I became a Nazi, but I was actually a skinhead back then.”
Also the amount of stabs seem to diminish with every new version. I wonder what it will be like in the next (in case there will be one). Probably something like "I stabbed him once, he fell down the stairs and broke his neck".
*****
“The only reason I had pulled a knife was because he was trying to, and I figured it would be fair that I had a knife too, although the knife I had wasn't much.”
Repeating this doesn't change the fact that, after all, he was actually unarmed.
*****
“He had showed his intention to kill me, and even though he was no longer a direct threat to me, there and then, I did not feel any bad for killing him. His cowardice had made me angry and I saw no reason to let him live, not when he had showed his intent to kill me.”
By doing what…?
*****
"Some have for some weird reason claimed that I killed Euronymous because of a girl...
[...] To my knowledge Euronymous didn't have a girlfriend, so it cannot be his girlfriend the people spreading this silly rumour were talking about either."
Huh? All of a sudden he didn´t have a girlfriend?
"Also, in August 1993 he was about to go to prison for four months, after being convicted for injuring two people with a broken bottle, because they had "looked at his girlfriend" at a bus-stop."
Ok, maybe he didn't have this girlfriend anymore just before he was murdered - but well, still thought I point that one out since it's definitely not clear from what Vikernes wrote.
*****
“Even the people who criticize me for killing a fellow Norwegian are wrong. Euronymous was actually Lappish, as can be clearly seen from the pictures of him. His Lappish (Mongolian) facial features are very visible, his hair was typical Lappish (thin and straight) and his stature was revealing too (like most Laps he was very short).”
---
“Also he was half Lappish, a Sami, so that was a bonus. Bastard!”
(Lords of Chaos; page 120)
This statement about Euronymous being a Sami (or half…he seems to be indecisive) has to be one of the best examples of Vikernes' ever-changing views. As Vikernes says himself it was clearly visible - so it was of course visible at times when they were good friends (even if he tries his best to downplay this these days). So, Vikernes either did not realize this back then (unlikely if it was so clearly visible!) - or rather he simply did not care! Now if that's not a change of mind… Great example of shooting yourself in the foot. Also very interesting in this context:
“I was a skinhead when I was 15 or 16. Nobody knows that. People say that suddenly I became a Nazi, but I was actually a skinhead back then.”
(Lords of Chaos; page 146)
*****
*****
"They still had no hard evidence against me, though. The only really usable thing they had was the confession from Snorre, but even he hadn't seen me stabbing Euronymous."
Well, but he had at least seen him bleeding like hell...
"Outside we met Snorre, who had finished his cigarette. All the doors looked the same, and Snorre was a pretty absent-minded fellow, so he had ended up in the attic, one floor up, by mistake. Confused he had gone back down and used his lighter flame to light up the door sign, trying to read it and figure out if this was the right apartment. As he was trying to read the door sign Euronymous came running out in his underwear, bleeding and screaming like a madman. Snorre was so surprised and terrified he looked like a ghost, and it looked as if his eyeballs were about to fall out of his head."
Well, but he had at least seen him bleeding like hell...
"Outside we met Snorre, who had finished his cigarette. All the doors looked the same, and Snorre was a pretty absent-minded fellow, so he had ended up in the attic, one floor up, by mistake. Confused he had gone back down and used his lighter flame to light up the door sign, trying to read it and figure out if this was the right apartment. As he was trying to read the door sign Euronymous came running out in his underwear, bleeding and screaming like a madman. Snorre was so surprised and terrified he looked like a ghost, and it looked as if his eyeballs were about to fall out of his head."
*****
“They suddenly claimed - two months after the killing and two months after I had been suspected of killing him (and they already had my fingerprints, from the January 1993 arrest) - they had found my fingerprints in blood on the crime scene. I was wearing gloves when I killed him, so I knew that was a load of crap…”
---
“I had military shooting gloves in my pocket – if this was a first degree murder wouldn't I have worn the gloves? Of course! I came into the building with gloves halfway out of my pocket and he attacked. If I was going to kill him I would have put on the gloves and then attacked.”
---
“I had military shooting gloves in my pocket – if this was a first degree murder wouldn't I have worn the gloves? Of course! I came into the building with gloves halfway out of my pocket and he attacked. If I was going to kill him I would have put on the gloves and then attacked.”
(Lords of Chaos; page 122)
Impossible to say what's actually true here, but in case his most recent account on this – to repeat the quote I already used above -
“The same day I decided to drive to Oslo, hand him the signed contract and tell him to "f*** off", basically, and by doing so take away all the excuses he had to contact me ever again.”
Wearing gloves (in summer!) simply to tell him to fuck off…?
Also, from another article (An analysis of the Book "Lords of Chaos") but in the same context:
"On Page 126 there is talk about fingerprints. Well, there are no fingerprints! It is just a bluff by the police, and attempt to make me "admit" the killing before the trial as they had no proof. This "fingerprints" evidence was not mentioned even a single time in court, no evidence was ever shown on this. Why? Because it simply does not exist. It was a bluff. It is -obviously- impossible for me to leave fingerprints with my right thumb when I hold the knife in my right hand."
Hm...
"The media claimed the killing was a result of a "power-struggle" in a "Satanic movement", and that I had killed him to take his place as a leader (?). Now, that doesn't make sense. I mean, is that how it works? You kill somebody to take their place? If You want to be appointed director of a firm You don't achieve that by killing the current director. What kind of world do these journalists live in? Are they living in animal pack or what? It just doesn't make sense at all."
It's definitely not how it works in a company but I can imagine that in the Black Metal movement of the early 90s this was seen as legitimate by at least some individuals.
Also I think that in Vikernes' so admired "Viking times" doing something like this was not unusual.
The company analogy is thus very inappropriate to say the least.
“They also tried to present the killing as so very brutal, and claimed he had died because both his lungs had been punctured. They further claimed I had stabbed him 23 times. First of all I knew very well that he had died when I stabbed him in the head. Secondly he had fallen into a pile of glass fragments in his underwear. Naturally this gave him a lot of cuts - even under one of this heels as he got back up in his feet after falling. They knew this too, but instead claimed I had stabbed him 23 times, just to make people think I was so very cruel, bestial and brutal.”
Yeah, since glass fragments usually lie with the sharp edges up…
Also I really don't think it would have made any difference as regards to the sentence Vikernes received for the murder if it took him one stab or 23 or whatever so his remark about "they knew this too..." is a great example of his paranoid thinking...
At least Vikernes seems to realize that knife stabs look totally different from wounds inflicted by glass fragments (irregular in shape and size, etc.) unlike a lot of his followers who never seem to stop arguing about it ... I don´t know how many times I ended up in discussions with them on this... so, if you still don't believe that you would see a difference bang your forearm hard into a pile of glass fragments and then stab a knife through it - this should give you an idea of what I am talking about...
Impossible to say what's actually true here, but in case his most recent account on this – to repeat the quote I already used above -
“The same day I decided to drive to Oslo, hand him the signed contract and tell him to "f*** off", basically, and by doing so take away all the excuses he had to contact me ever again.”
Wearing gloves (in summer!) simply to tell him to fuck off…?
Also, from another article (An analysis of the Book "Lords of Chaos") but in the same context:
"On Page 126 there is talk about fingerprints. Well, there are no fingerprints! It is just a bluff by the police, and attempt to make me "admit" the killing before the trial as they had no proof. This "fingerprints" evidence was not mentioned even a single time in court, no evidence was ever shown on this. Why? Because it simply does not exist. It was a bluff. It is -obviously- impossible for me to leave fingerprints with my right thumb when I hold the knife in my right hand."
Hm...
*****
"The media claimed the killing was a result of a "power-struggle" in a "Satanic movement", and that I had killed him to take his place as a leader (?). Now, that doesn't make sense. I mean, is that how it works? You kill somebody to take their place? If You want to be appointed director of a firm You don't achieve that by killing the current director. What kind of world do these journalists live in? Are they living in animal pack or what? It just doesn't make sense at all."
It's definitely not how it works in a company but I can imagine that in the Black Metal movement of the early 90s this was seen as legitimate by at least some individuals.
Also I think that in Vikernes' so admired "Viking times" doing something like this was not unusual.
The company analogy is thus very inappropriate to say the least.
*****
“They also tried to present the killing as so very brutal, and claimed he had died because both his lungs had been punctured. They further claimed I had stabbed him 23 times. First of all I knew very well that he had died when I stabbed him in the head. Secondly he had fallen into a pile of glass fragments in his underwear. Naturally this gave him a lot of cuts - even under one of this heels as he got back up in his feet after falling. They knew this too, but instead claimed I had stabbed him 23 times, just to make people think I was so very cruel, bestial and brutal.”
Yeah, since glass fragments usually lie with the sharp edges up…
Also I really don't think it would have made any difference as regards to the sentence Vikernes received for the murder if it took him one stab or 23 or whatever so his remark about "they knew this too..." is a great example of his paranoid thinking...
At least Vikernes seems to realize that knife stabs look totally different from wounds inflicted by glass fragments (irregular in shape and size, etc.) unlike a lot of his followers who never seem to stop arguing about it ... I don´t know how many times I ended up in discussions with them on this... so, if you still don't believe that you would see a difference bang your forearm hard into a pile of glass fragments and then stab a knife through it - this should give you an idea of what I am talking about...
*****
"In court they showed pictures from the autopsy to a terrified jury. The pictures showed Euronymous naked in a table, with all his hair shaved off and his eyes still open, and all the cuts numbered with a pen in his skin. I know it was humiliating for him to get killed, but when they showed pictures from the autopsy in court that was surely much worse. Killing scumbags is one thing, but I would never humiliate anybody like that."
"Interesting" try to present the murder as the lesser of two evils since no-one would have humiliated him like this if he hadn´t been murdered in the first place...
"Interesting" try to present the murder as the lesser of two evils since no-one would have humiliated him like this if he hadn´t been murdered in the first place...
